10/07/2019 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 10 July, Member States' ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) validated without debate the agreement to increase to 35,000 tonnes the US share of an existing duty-free tariff quota of 45,000 tonnes of hormone-free beef (see EUROPE 12275/21, 12215/9). An agreement was reached with Washington in the first quarter of 2019 to amend the EU-US Memorandum of Understanding by allocating more than three-quarters of this quota to the United States with a seven-year phasing. This solution puts an end to the EU-US dispute that arose in 2009 following the EU's refusal to allow imports of US beef containing hormones. The date of adoption of the text by the EU Council is not yet known and it is unclear whether the final document will be made public. (HD)